Do I need Anitvirus?

Is it a good idea to buy or use antivirus software? Is it necessary with a Mac? I have an ageing 17” MacBook Pro with top bespoke spec for NLEditing (FCP or Avid). Recently I’ve been getting unsolicited pages coming up on Safari, but also a page from MacKeeper telling me I have over 2,000 viruses that need cleaning (if I pay for their licence). Is the antivirus software itself the cause of the problem? Perhaps it could have been downloaded accidentally, because I seem to have its basic free program installed with my applications? Or is such software good and I might well have viruses that need attending to and if so what antivirus software would you recommend and is it expensive? Otherwise how do I remove MacKeeper?

graham says… Our general advice on MacFormat is to only get apps that promise to remove viruses from a reputable source. Quite often you’ll find that a free program will do the job for you perfectly well, if you actually do have malware on your Mac. If you search for information about MacKeeper on Google, you’ll find all sorts of warnings about this program, and also guides to uninstalling it. I’d say it’s very unlikely that your Mac has a single piece of malware on it, let alone 2,000 of them. In terms of whether your Mac actually needs antivirus software at all, check out our feature on page 14, where we address this problematic issue. The main risk of a virus on your Mac is that you’ve received it unwittingly in an email, and you pass it onto a Windows-using colleague where it can actually do some damage. Or you may have Windows installed on your own Mac with Boot Camp, where it could inflict damage. So, if you want to be a good citizen then you probably should have some form of antivirus software, however, if you just use common sense, and don’t visit dodgy-looking websites then the chances of you getting something nasty on your Mac are extremely slim.